From where to dine to how to score reserved parking near the Curran

Share this:

MATTHEW MURPHY/THE CURRAN
Ben Levi Ross, left, and Jessica Phillips star in the touring production of "Dear Evan Hansen," playing at The Curran in San Francisco Dec. 5-30.

MATTHEW MURPHY/THE CURRAN
From left, Levi Ross, Aaron Lazar, Christiane Noll and Maggie McKenna star in the touring production of "Dear Evan Hansen," playing at The Curran in San Francisco through Dec. 30.

Sound

The gallery will resume inseconds

The first national touring company of "Dear Evan Hansen." (Curran)

MICHAEL ZORN/ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Ben Platt and the cast of "Dear Evan Hansen" perform at the Tony Awards in New York last year. The musical will come to San Francisco as part of The Curran theater's new season.

Stacey Mindich, center, and the cast and crew of "Dear Evan Hansen" accept the award for best musical at the 71st annual Tony Awards on Sunday, June 11, 2017, in New York. (Photo by Michael Zorn/Invision/AP)

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 11: Rachel Bay Jones accepts the award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical for ?Dear Evan Hansen? onstage during the 2017 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 11, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

Ben Platt and the cast of "Dear Evan Hansen" perform at the 71st annual Tony Awards on Sunday, June 11, 2017, in New York. (Photo by Michael Zorn/Invision/AP)

CLICK HERE if you are having trouble viewing these photos on a mobile device

Broadway’s wildly popular “Dear Evan Hansen” has arrived in San Francisco at last. Here’s everything you need to know before you go, from where to dine — hello, Tratto! — to how to score reserved parking near the Curran. And, of course, the answers to the biggest questions of all: Is the show any good? Can Ben Levi Ross replicate the wow factor Ben Platt — of “Pitch Perfect” fame — brought to the original role? And will whoever eventually replaces Ben Levi Ross have to be named Ben, too? (OK, probably not.)

Pre-show dining (and post-show drinks!)

Pizza and housemade pasta are the stars at Tratto in San Francisco. (Tratto).

Going to the theater isn’t just about what’s happening on stage. It’s a whole experience. There’s dinner before, and drinks or dessert afterward, so you can talk through all those plot twists and heart-breaking songs — and debate that whole Ben thing.

The parking dilemma

BART is just a few blocks from the Curran, but if you’re driving — and fretting over where you’re going to park and whether you can take out a loan for the parking tab — fret not. Here’s how to score reserved and discount parking near the theater. Yes. You’re welcome.

Who is Evan Hansen?

With music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (“La La Land”), the musical tells the story of Evan Hansen, an awkward, friendless high school senior, whose therapist suggests he write letters to himself. When a classmate commits suicide, his family finds one of Evan’s letters — stolen — in his pocket. They think it’s a suicide note their son addressed to Evan and that the two were friends. Everything spirals out of control from there as Evan, theater critic Karen D’Souza says, is “catapulted to overnight stardom by a quirk of fate.”

The Broadway production of “Dear Evan Hansen” won half a dozen Tony Awards last year, including the award for best musical, best original score and best leading actor in a musical for its star, Ben Platt. Ben Levi Ross plays the titular Evan Hansen in the touring production, capturing his heartbreaking anxiety and awkwardness.

So is the show any good?

We’ll let our reviewer answer that: “In an era where Broadway is dominated by recycled cartoons and simians, (this production) feels downright fresh and ingenious. Certainly this tender-hearted show captures the slippery nature of truth in a world driven by likes and clicks.” Read the rest of the review here.

Jackie Burrell is the editor and senior writer for the Mercury News and East Bay Times' Eat Drink Play section, which explores the West Coast's food, wine, cocktail and travel scene each week. An award-winning writer, Burrell joined the Bay Area News Group staff in 2000.

John Travolta’s mob movie flop “Gotti” and President Donald Trump were nominated on Monday for the Razzie Awards for the worst films of 2018 after a year that organizers called full of disasters - both on and off screen.